David Axe writer of that story is clueless, he has been writing bad reports about F35 ever since it was announced and even before first test flights. Medium.com is just a blog with unsubstantiated stories.
If David Axe had a F*ing clue about ACM he would know that visual range air to air manoeuvrability hasn't been a priority of fighter aircraft design since the Korean War. Planes performance, avionics and weapon systems are designed with priority of BVR engagements with very long range air to air missiles which is where the F35 and F22 excel above any other aircraft.
Aircraft manouverability key factor is wing loading and thrust. It's already well known that the F-35 makes it inherently less agile than current fighter aircraft also the F-35’s thrust loading is significantly inferior to that of the F-15, F-16 and F-22 As a result the F-35 is inferior in visual-range only combat in terms of acceleration, climb and sustained-turn capability. It also has a lower top speed.
However these comparisons are naïve and simplistic in reality debate should not be limited to a discussion of visual-range engagements. In a real combat mission the ability to sneak up on your opponent and be the first to shoot is priority.
The F-35’s low observability cannot be matched by any other fighter in the world except the F22. Opposing fighter pilots will find that the range at which they can detect the F-35, either by radar or electro-optics/infrared means, will be significantly shorter than they are used to.
Also F35 avionics are the most advanced in the world. The F-35 pilot has superior situational awareness, by day and by night, and a helmet-mounted display. This makes for a big advantage and will allow F35 pilots to take full advantage of off-boresight air-to-air missiles.
Reality is 4th generation aircraft have a radar signature the size of a barn, any stealth fighter F22 F35 can engage them long before the opposing fighter even realises they have been engaged.
F-15 has over 100 kills nearly all of those are BVR
